Dunstaffnage Castle

Dunstaffnage
Castle on its Rock

Standing atop a rock outcrop three miles north of
Oban, Dunstaffnage Castle is an impressive
fortification overlooking what was once the most important junction of the
sea-lanes on the west coast of Scotland.

The strategic location, and the presence of such an inviting lump
of rock on which to build, means that this has been a defended site for nearly
1,500 years. In the 600s the Kings of
Dalriada, the Kingdom of the
Scots who migrated to Argyll
from Ireland, built a stronghold here. It is even suggested that this was the
original keeping place of the
Stone of Destiny.

By 1249 the fortress here was held by the Macdougalls, appointed by
King Håkon IV of
Norway. In July 1249 Dunstaffnage was to be the first target of
King Alexander II in
his campaign to seize the Hebrides from Norwegian rule. However, with his fleet
assembled in Oban Bay, Alexander died in
unexplained circumstances on the island of
Kerrera. Dunstaffnage Castle and
the Macdougalls lived to fight another day: a day that came just 60 years
later.

Much of the castle you see at Dunstaffnage today was built by the
Macdougalls in the 1200s. It is not clear whether it was this castle or its
predecessor on the site that was
Alexander's target in
1249. The castle did, however, transfer to royal possession when it was
captured after a siege by Robert the Bruce in 1309.
The Chiefs of Clan MacArthur were subsequently appointed as hereditary Captains
of Dunstaffnage Castle, and it remained in their hands until 1470, when custody
was transferred to the 1st Earl of Argyll, Colin Campbell. In 1502 the castle
was passed from the Earl to his cousin, whose family still hold the title of
hereditary Captain.

Dunstaffnage was burned in May 1685 during an attempted uprising by
the Earl of Argyll against James VII/II supported by
Dutch troops (see our Historical Timeline). His
uprising was quashed and the Earl was executed, but too late to save
Dunstaffnage.

During the Jacobite uprising of 1745, Dunstaffnage was garrisoned
by government forces. It also became the temporary prison of
Flora MacDonald in 1746
after she was arrested for assisting
Bonnie Prince
Charlie. Still visible along the west curtain is a range of arrow slits
'fish-tailed' at the base showing they were converted for use with firearms.

The basic shape of Dunstaffnage is an irregular quadrangle, largely
determined by the contours of the rock on which it stands. The corner towers,
two of which remain today, are tucked into the structure of the curtain wall
rather than projecting from it as is the norm with such structures. Again this
is dictated by the rocky outcrop.

A projecting gateway was added to the castle in the early 1500s,
largely obscuring the eastern tower. A century later the upper part of the
gatehouse was reconstructed and the lower floor subdivided. The original great
hall stood on the inner face of the north east wall at first floor level and
adjacent to the principal north tower. Its blocked up windows can still be
traced in the east curtain wall.

In 1810, the existing gatehouse was gutted by fire, destroying the
principal residence of the then Captain. However, the courtyard buildings
remained in occupation until the end of the 1800s. The hereditary Captain
remains keeper of the castle to this day. The gatehouse is still occasionally
used by the current Captain of Dunstaffnage, but has been opened to the public.
The interior is intact, if a little spartan.

A short walk south west from the main castle building is
Dunstaffnage Chapel, probably built in the second quarter of the 1200s. The
remains suggest that this was originally highly decorated, with the interior
being divided into a chancel and a nave by a wooden screen. It seems likely
that the chapel fell out of use after the
Reformation and it was
apparently in ruins when a roofless burial aisle was added to its east end in
1740 by the Campbells of Dunstaffnage, whose monuments are amongst those still
standing within the shell of the building. The walls of the aisle incorporate a
number of fragments of moulded or decorated stone obviously reused from the
chapel.

Dunstaffnage Castle is surrounded by attractive woodland and grassy
areas sweeping past the visitor centre to the shore of Dunstaffnage Bay. Here
you can enjoy the views across the moored vessels associated with the nearby
marine laboratory to Dunbeg and, further away to the east, to
Connel and the bridge over the Falls
of Lora.